N E W S L E T T E R C Y C L N G S E C T I O N

Transcription

1 22 January 2015 Your ACM Committee N E W S L E T T E R C Y C L N G S E C T I O N S P E C I A L P O I N T S O F I N T E R E S T Rolling Along Route 52 Presidents Blog Riding Tips Upcoming Interclub Series Monday Night MTB Chch Elite Nationals Upcoming Events List Rolling Along Route 52 I had planned to do this ride for sometime after reading an article in NZ Cyclist magazine. Fortunately the opportunity came along between Christmas and New Year with a favorable forecast and a colleague able to give me a lift to Waipukurau. I also mentioned my planned ride to some of the cycle club. Mike Parker, that well known randoneer, volunteered to cycle from Masterton and meet up with me in Pongaroa. A handy opportunity for him to test ride the new carbon framed pressie from Santa Claus. Most of you probably know Route 52 runs from Waipukurau to Masterton via Porangahau, Pongaroa and Alfredton. A distance of about 200kms over pleasantly undulating terrain with a couple of steeper pitches thrown in for good measure. What s not to like about such a ride on a summers day? Waipuk to Porangahau is a flat 45kms and went past quickly. Out of Porangahau it s a short climb then a more undulating road to Wimbledon. On the way is the world s longest place name (which I can t spell so won t type). I stopped to snap a pic of the Wimbledon Tavern which looked like a pleasant establishment and, I noted for future reference, does B&B. Support your local bike shop We all wish our budding 1/2 Iron man entrants, Julie Millar and Megan Simpson all the very best for their upcoming event a lot of hard training has gone in, GO HARD GIRLS The next leg from Wimbledon was a bit of a grind. The wind had become a nnoyingly blustery tho it was still warm & sunny. The road was increasingly steep with few level sections for respite. Eventually I reached some kind of summit and the road undulated downwards into the Akitio River valley and the going was much easier. Passing the Waione Hall I pulled up and found a tap out the back to refill my water bottles then enjoyed the road for the next 18kms to Pongaroa. There s a bit of a climb up into Pongaroa and who was beaming down this but Mike on his new velo. Mike remarked that he thought if he rode the downhill I was bound to be just coming up the other way. And he was right! We hastily repaired to the pub for lunch where, as it was full of other travelers and cyclistes, we had to wait some time for the burgers an chips to arrive. Heading South to Alfredton there were more hills and a surprisingly steep and switchbacky type climb which quite took me by surprise. It probably has a name, I don t know, but it s definitely impressive to look at. After negotiating this it was pretty straight forward to Alfredton and a pleasant rest on the grassy verge.

2 P a g e 2 Unfortunately at this point, whilst I went in search of water, Mike discovered a large tear in his front tyre and had to carry out a makeshift repair. I thought he had gone on ahead so set off in pursuit, thinking he was making surprisingly good time. I didn t see him again till Masterton. Alfredton onwards will be familiar to all the club riders and was a pleasant respite from the earlier undulating sections of road. Whilst halted for a snack who turned up but Ben Knight, out on a training ride, we had a bit of a yarn before he vanishing into the distance at speed. My car was parked up at the hospital and I was about to turn into the car park when I noticed the Garmin only read 199kms. Not good enough I thought so off down the road for a lap around the Horseshoe roundabout to tick up 200kms. I was putting the bike on the car when Mike went past along Te Ore Ore road. I caught up to him and discovered his tyre woes earlier in Alfredton. So total riding time was possibly around nine hours. I hadn t set the Garmin to auto stop so don t really know. It was a brilliant day out and something I ll be doing again. I know other club riders have done the route as a two day trip so may be next time I ll stay over somewhere. Andy CC P r e s i d e n t s B l o g Hard to believe that we are already into the second half of our season!! A group from Masterton headed into Martinborough last weekend to partake in the annual Masters 2 day tour. Always fun, with some excellent racing. Dave Shepherd, Mike Parker and Andy Curtis Cody won medals in their respective grades. Report has it that both of our Local Bike Shops are busy so hopefully this will flow on to the club in time. Reminder: Training Rides. Saturday 7.00am Faster tempo 30 35k average for race training Saturday 8.00am Ladies organised, slower pace and to encourage newer riders Sunday 8.00am Steady ride 27 30k average (bragging right sprints & KOM) Wednesday5.30pm Easy Moderate 27 30k steady and assist new riders Riding Tips Bunch riding For a bunch to work well, you need to be able to trust the riders around you. On a slower ride like our Sunday rides the rules are a lot more casual, but when the pace is up a bit or particularly if you are in a race, it pays to know the drill. You still need to be able to shift quickly to single file riding when traffic conditions require it. Riders at the front You are the eyes for the whole bunch only you can see the potholes, glass, cars at intersections and so on. You need to point out hazards well in advance, so the bunch can smoothly avoid them. At intersections, it s your call as to whether the whole bunch can get through or whether you bring the bunch to a gentle halt. Riders at the back You are the ones that warn the bunch of cars wanting to pass or let the bunch know that someone has punctured. Bunch riding is about looking out for each other, not abandoning fellow riders on the side of the road without a second glance.

3 P a g e 3 Which side do I lap on? Take note of the wind direction. If it s coming from your right, the line moving to the front will be on the left. If the wind is on your left, you come through on the right. The rule of thumb is that the riders coming to the front are always protected from the wind, so that they are fresh when they hit the front. How fast should I go through to the front? Most people get this wrong the guy at the front pulls over and the next guy in the queue takes that as a signal to hit the gas. You only want to maintain the previous speed. Just gently apply enough pressure to meet the extra wind resistance. Don t accelerate! That sends a shockwave through the bunch, the effect of which is huge by the time the riders at the back are affected. Again, it s all about riding smoothly. How long should I stay in front? Generally, the faster the pace the shorter the turn at the front. Just watch what others are doing and aim for that. Ultimately it s up to you. If you are not feeling that strong, just hit the front and then pull over. If you are feeling strong, stay a bit longer. In a very small bunch, everyone will have to take longer turns at the front, but a big bunch can just keep rotating fairly frequently. The speed difference between the riders going forward and backward should only be a couple of km/h at the most. What if I can t go through? This is known as sitting and is not a problem, provided you sit towards the back of the bunch. Don t sit in the middle of the bunch, you can end up acting as a cork in a bottle, preventing other riders from coming through. Make it obvious you aren t coming through by keeping your front wheel out of the vision of the rider in front. You might need to encourage the rider to take the gap until everyone is aware you aren t going to come through. When you ve rested up enough, just decisively jump on the wheel in front. In a large bunch, there might only be a small group working at the front, with a lot of riders sitting. Look ahead Riders often focus just on the wheel in front, but you need to keep looking ahead at what is happening at the front of the bunch (and beyond), to avoid pile ups when stopping or hitting pot holes etc. the speed and avoid the shockwave effect that goes back through the bunch otherwise the guys at the back end up bungy-ing up and down in speed. Likewise, if a gap opens up, don t panic and hammer it to get there, just build the pace smoothly and drag everyone up with you. If you go hard out, you drop those behind and then have to brake again when you catch up with the shockwave again affecting anyone behind. 1. NEVER overlap wheels with the bike in front. 2. STAY left and follow the wheel in front, not push the outside rider into the traffic lane 3. KEEP a steady speed, this avoids the bungy effect for those further back in the group 4. AVOID sudden movements like braking, swerving or sudden acceleration 5. YOU are the eyes of the riders following point out pot holes, road kill and other hazards 6. RIDERS near the back need to advise riders ahead of cars needing to pass 7. KEEP an eye on the riders around you, if someone punctures, check if they need a hand 8. SHOW courtesy to other road users. Go single file where the road is narrow

4 P a g e 4 MONDAY NIGHT - MTB RIDES If you would like to see the Wairarapa countryside from a different perspective the Monday night mtb rides are for you. Meeting at the Avanti car park at 5:45pm for 6pm departure. Taking in urban rides or one of many local farms around Masterton. The rides are not at a high difficulty level and are doable for most abilities but can give the heart and lungs a good workout. Mountain bikes or even cyclocross bikes could be used. With a real social side to it the numbers are getting strong with all ages coming along and both guys and gals enjoying the rides NO RACING NO FEES JUST FUN Up coming Interclub Series Starting 25 January the club kicks off the first round of this years Interclub Series. It is a four round series that is aimed at riders of all abilities. Being a handicap race all grades have an equal chance of taking a victory with some of our limit riders having so in previous years. It seems the group that has the strongest numbers and works together gets the best results so it would be great to see as many members as possible giving it a go. Just $10 per round with $5 of that going to the end of series prize pool and the other half going towards post race nibbles. Race distances are 45km to 70km with two course s. One virtually flat the other lumpy. So give it a go. It s a great chance to race on different roads against different competitors. Race1 25 Jan ACM Club, Masterton Race2 1 Feb WMCC, Kahutara School, Featherston Race 3 15 Feb, Kapiti Cycling Club Race 4 1 March, PNP Club. Starts Blue Mountain Progressive Association hall, Upper Hutt

5 P a g e 5 Doc s Report on the Elite Nationals Christchurch Christchurch was all go for the weekend of the Elite Nationals as a small troupe of locals boarded a plane for the overseas pilgrimage/adventure. The forecast was for fine and hot conditions and we were not disappointed. It was great for spectators however, not so for our women riders with a couple falling victim to heatstroke & exhaustion. Also, extremely unfortunate for Jamie Neilson who was in a strong early break from the main bunch with Linda Villumsen. I imagine the departure of her break away partner was not in Linda s plan but it seemed to strengthen the mighty leader. She showed no weakness, powering away gaining more time with each lap and eventually winning the road race in emphatic style with no other rider for miles. Sharlotte Lucus 2 nd place with 3 rd place sprinted by 2 riders of which we were gunning for Emily Collins who gained the 4 th spot behind 42 year old Karen Fulton. The bulk of the main group followed shortly after. A post race autopsy at the Elevate Bar was of course filled with expert opinions and what ifs in the late Christchurch afternoon sunshine. This continued on at dinner (for which we visited the Fox & Ferret due to discount cards that Doc had collected). Sunday saw an overcast day (great for the riders) and gosh what a group of skin and bone presented themselves for the first of 10 climbs. Our semi local, Wellington TT giant Dan Waluszewski, was in the break after smashing the first lap. This was a huge cheering factor for us on the hill. It didn t take long for the 46 starters to be whittled down to a few stragglers, the main bunch and a leading break of 3. Avanti presented themselves as something of a Sky Team with one up the road and the rest of the team sitting on the front of the peloton controlling the pace. As it got to the 8 th & 9 th climb the pace of these leading rabbits increased showing it was time to put the pedal to the metal and make something happen. The crowds were not disappointed. The change in places, riders, groups etc between the penultimate and last climb were incredible. The pressure was then on for us spectators to get to the bottom of the hill and across to the finish line to see what the outcome was. Avanti, Avanti, and oh yes, Avanti 1 st, 2 nd & 3 rd. This was followed by the Under 23 s sprinting it home and the peloton not disappointing with a speedy finish. Overall an exciting race was observed and highly recommended. Next years event is closer to home in Hawkes Bay so pop it in your diary. These guys & gals are really worth watching.

6 UPCOMING EVENTS 25th January 27th January 28th Jan 1 Feb 1st February 1st February 3rd February Race 1 of Interclub Series, Masterton Club Race GRR 55km Wangahu start Henley Lake 2015 NZVT Cycle Classic UCI stages race around Palmerston North, fielding & Pahiatua Race 2 Interclub WVCC, Lake Wairarapa 2 day road Race, Masters Games Whanganui Club Race GRR Parkvale/Mboro, start Parkvale 6 7 February RR & TT Masters Games, Whanganui 10th February 14th February 15th February 17th February Club Race ITT, start Norfolk Rd & Return Club Hill Climb Champs, Kourau start 2pm Race 3 Interclub, Kapiti Club HRR 38km, start Henley Lake February Trusthouse Womens Tour of NZ, 5 days racing in Wairarapa 21st February Parkinsons Fun Ride, 18 / 45 / 72km Road Race, Gladstone 24th February Club Race 55km HRR Kourarau Loop 25 January Masterton Interclub Kahutara) Interclub 28th Race February Rev Cycle Festival, Cambridge 25 February - 1 March January February Womens Tour of NZ (tbc) 28th February Club Criterium Champs - UCI 2.2 Men's Cycle Classic (Manawatu) 1 March 2015 PNP Interclub 7th March Karapoti Mountainbike Race (even roadies can 29 January February enter...) - BikeNZ 8th March Elite and U19 Bush Cycle 4-8 March Tour, 2015 Pahiatua BikeNZ Age Track National Championships 14th (tbc) March Club ITT National Champs, Championships 40km Group and Omnium Track (tbc) 8 February 21st March 2015 WVCC Club Road Race Champs Carrington Graded RR 29 March 2015 Clark Cup Carrington 28th March Gentle Masterton Annie, Taihape to Napier ride 15 February 2015 Kapiti April BikeNZ Interclub 28th March Grape Ride, Blenhim Club Road National Championships (Hawkes Bay) 22 February 2015 WVCC Round Lake Wairarapa Buy our Club kit now handled by Bruce McCullum bruce@touchstonecapital.co.nz to order